“Sheffield Wednesday are a strong side, and to me one of the favourites for promotion from our division,” said the German. “I have a lot of respect for them and their manager (Carlos Carvalhal) and his philosophy.

“They did well last season, kept their best players and brought some more quality in.

“If we are to be successful we have to reach our best performance level and have every supporter behind us.

“When we have maybe a difficult period, we really need their backing.

“I expect a tight game and maybe we will have to go over our borderline. There will be some moments where our players have to suffer.

“They have to be open to taking that further step when it hurts. By doing this we have a good chance for a positive result.”